SAN FRANCISCO - Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said there was no plan to invite Chinese police officers to patrol local tourist destinations, seeking to clear the air after comments by the country’s tourism authority about such a move created a furore.

The South-east Asian country only wants to cooperate with Chinese police on information exchange about criminal networks that may be active in Thailand, which would boost the confidence of Chinese tourists, Mr Srettha told reporters during a trip to San Francisco on Monday.

The cooperation would not involve stationing Chinese police personnel in Thailand, he said. 

Mr Srettha’s comment came after the governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand told reporters on Sunday that Bangkok was in talks with China about a joint patrol programme covering tourist hot spots. The comment sparked an outcry among Thais who expressed concern about sovereignty.

The controversy arose due to a miscommunication, he said.

Thailand has been trying to revive its tourism industry, a key driver of economic growth. Chinese tourists used to make up the largest number of foreign arrivals to Thailand before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In September, Mr Srettha’s administration waived visa requirements for Chinese travellers for a five-month period, an exemption that was extended in November to travellers from India and Taiwan through May next year.

Chinese arrivals have totalled 2.8 million so far this year, trailing the Thai government’s full-year target of 4 million to 4.4 million, official data shows. BLOOMBERG